Measuring Relative Tastes
Measuring the degree to which a substance presents one basic taste can be achieved in a subjective way by comparing its taste to a reference substance. Quinine, a bitter medicinal found in tonic water, can be used to subjectively rate the bitterness of a substance. Units of dilute quinine hydrochloride (1 g in 2000 mL of water) can be used to measure the threshold bitterness concentration, the level at which the presence of a dilute bitter substance can be detected by a human taster, of other compounds. More formal chemical analysis, while possible, is difficult.
Relative saltiness can be rated by comparison to a dilute salt solution.
The sourness of a substance can be rated by comparing it to very dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Sweetness is subjectively measured by comparing the threshold values, or level at which the presence of a dilute substance can be detected by a human taster, of different sweet substances. Substances are usually measured relative to sucrose, which is usually given an arbitrary index of 1 or 100. Fructose is about 1.4 times sweeter than sucrose; glucose, a sugar found in honey and vegetables, is about three-quarters as sweet; and lactose, a milk sugar, is one-half as sweet.
Read more about this topic: Taste
Famous quotes containing the words measuring, relative and/or tastes:
“We recognize caste in dogs because we rank ourselves by the familiar dog system, a ladderlike social arrangement wherein one individual outranks all others, the next outranks all but the first, and so on down the hierarchy. But the cat system is more like a wheel, with a high-ranking cat at the hub and the others arranged around the rim, all reluctantly acknowledging the superiority of the despot but not necessarily measuring themselves against one another.”
—Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. “Strong and Sensitive Cats,” Atlantic Monthly (July 1994)
“To revolt is a natural tendency of life. Even a worm turns against the foot that crushes it. In general, the vitality and relative dignity of an animal can be measured by the intensity of its instinct to revolt.”
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)
“Our self-love can less bear to have our tastes than our opinions condemned.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)